INTRODUCTION

Multi-faceted filmmaker Iwai Shunji directed the acclaimed films "Love Letter" and "Swallowtail." Iwai also wrote, adapted and directed the 2004 hit film "Hana & Alice" depicting the everyday lives, friendship and loves of two girls, Hana (Anne Suzuki) and Alice (Yu Aoi), which catapulted the young actresses' careers. "Hana & Alice" is still adored by devoted fans. Now, Shunji Iwai has created a completely original animated feature film -- a "prequel" that tells us how the two heroines first met.

The original actors from the 2004 "Hana & Alice" will voice their own characters in the prequel. Yu Aoi as Alice and Anne Suzuki as Hana will breathe new life into their animated counterparts.

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STORY

Tetsuko Arisugawa (a.k.a. Alice), a transfer student to Ishinomori Middle School, hears a strange rumor that one year ago, "Judas was killed by four other Judas" in Class 1. Alice's classmate Hana lives next door in the "Flower House" that everyone is scared of...
Hana is rumored to know something about the mysterious "Judas" murder, so Alice sneaks into the Flower House and finds the reclusive Hana Arai waiting for her...
Was Judas really murdered? Why is Hana still a recluse? Hana and Alice embark on an adventure to solve the mystery of the "smallest murder in the world."